Apparently this name was coined by Kananaskis Country employees to keep in theme with "Pig's Tail" which is the peak between Commonwealth and Birdwood. (From Gillean Daffern's book on Kananaskis Hikes)

So how does one end up on a peak about 4km due east of one's original objective when one actually left the correct trailhead and there was clear weather and an obvious ascent track? I'm not 100% sure. But it happened.

Wietse and I originally intended on skiing as much of Smutwood Peak as possible before slogging up to the summit in our ski boots. We would approach the mountain via Commonwealth Creek and the Birdwood / Smuts col - it should all be very obvious. The weekend before I had seen at least 10-15 cars parked near the winter trailhead so I assumed we would have no issues.

What we got instead was a whole new ski tour in K country, rivaling (or even superior to) Burstall Pass and the French-Haig-Robertson traverse! And we still managed to back a peak too. It's all good when you're loose in the hills.

[We were supposed to end up in the center. We ended up on upper left and then skied around to the center!]

Wietse called it. We were grunting through a steep hill when Wietse mentioned that he thought we might be too far climber's left. I dismissed that idea because I honestly didn't realize that you could go wrong on the approach up Commonwealth Creek. I'd been in there in the summer and only remembered steep walls on each side of an obvious valley - there was nowhere else to go! WRONG! I forgot about Commonwealth Lake!

It turns out that in a former clearcut we should have taken the trail branching to the right (2nd obvious track branching that way - the first goes to Tent Ridge for Yo-Yo skiing). We were following a set of tracks from someone who arrived even earlier than us - and we were skiing before sunrise. If those fresh tracks had gone up Commonwealth Creek we would have followed them - oh well!

[I wasn't looking forward to the descent through tight trees and crappy snow on the headwall before the lake.]

After grunting up through steep forest and coming up on Commonwealth Lake we knew we were screwed as far as bagging Smutwood! We figured we'd go up to the col and scope out a descent route into Commonwealth Creek and at least salvage the day with a new tour - one we didn't even know existed before this day. Eventually we heard some 'whooping' and met up with the two skiers in front of us doing laps above Commonwealth Lake. They thought the lake was unnamed but told us of "super" slope on the other side of the col and mentioned that it's a fantastic tour. "Super" slope sounded serious but they assured us it was pretty safe if we skied on the right side of the slope. We pushed on.

There was one very serious slope that we crossed on the way up to the col. I wouldn't have crossed it with a higher avy rating or any signs of instability. The snowpack seemed very stable and we had no issues on the slope - but it would wind load very easily and was very steep - evidence of previous slides and slope creep were everywhere around it.

[Grunting up steep slopes above Commonwealth Lake. The slopes to the right are awesome yo-yo slopes.]

[Awesome views of Commonwealth. Note the avy damaged trees in the foreground and the steep avy slope beyond? Horrible run out on bottom left, out of sight, means you should be VERY sure that the conditions are solid before attempting this slope crossing. And even then - go one at a time.]

[Nearing the end of the most serious avy slope with Commonwealth looming over us. The col into Commonwealth Creek is out of sight to the right. Pig's Back rises above us out of sight on the right.]

[Looking left to another serious looking ascent slope / col that would dump you in the Burstall Pass approach valley.]

[Wietse at the col, looking towards Piggy Plus. Pig's back to the right.]

Once we tagged the col we realized that we could easily bag the peak to the North. We had great views already and imagined it could only get better. We were right! We didn't know if the GR was named or not but we really didn't care. The weather was gorgeous and we had plenty of time so why not check it out?

[It's as easy as it looks!]

The views from the summit were awesome. We had excellent views of Commonwealth, Pig's Tail, Birdwood, Smutwood, Smuts and the Fist. We also had prime seats for the classic mountains to the north and east including Engadine, Galatea, The Tower, Gusty, Fortress and Chester.

We traversed the entire Pig's Back and then came back to the high point where we tucked in behind a rock and had lunch.

[Wietse takes in the awesome morning views across Commonwealth Creek to the west toward The Fist and Tent Ridge.]

[Looking over at Wietse on the summit with Smuts, The Fist and many other summits visible including Smutwood at the very far left! ;-) ++]

[There's the peak we're supposed to be on!! Smutwood rises over the Birdwood / Smuts col.]

[Wietse heads back to our skies. Commonwealth, Pig's Tail and Birdwood in front. "Super Slope" is down from the col between Commonwealth on the left and Pig's Tail in the center. This slope will get lots of cross loading but it sure looks like a sweet ski run!]

[My favorite shot of Mount Birdwood taken from near the col]

Once we got back to the col, we noticed fresh ski tracks descending into Commonwealth Creek on the other side. The couple that we'd passed earlier must have followed our skin track to the col and descended ahead of us. At least we'd know where to do now!

"Super slope" looked a bit intimidating but we'd only be on the very bottom of it. Skinning to the top of it would've been a blast but it looked fairly cross loaded being a north facing slope with lots of extreme winds from the west. I will go back some day to ski the whole thing but avy conditions have to be very stable first.

I followed Wietse into the lower valley - the skiing was a blast! We descended into a rather steep and narrow gully (creek bed) that doesn't look very friendly once you're through it! I would never have guessed such a great ski run was hidden on that side of the Commonwealth Creek valley.

[Wietse traverses from the col to "Super Slope"]

[Wietse skis down into Commonwealth Creek valley]

[Looking up "Super Slope" - looks awesome!! It's much steeper than it appears in this orientation.]

[This gives an idea of the terrain in the creek. It's a heckuva terrain trap so don't enter if avy conditions are dicey.]

[Looking up at Pig's Back from the Commonwealth Creek valley. Our ski gully is visible on the right and the route goes up this gully and then right.]

From the Commonwealth Creek valley we had a delightful ski back to the car. Pig's Back looks like a 'real peak' from the valley and I'm glad we ended up there! The entire route up Commonwealth Lake and over the high col and back out via the creek can take as little as 4 hours or even less if you have a broken track. You get lots of chances for side skiing, like a few laps above Commonwealth Lake, skiing from the top of "Super Slope" or doing some yo-yo skiing in the avy paths descending from Smuts and The Fist. We LOVED this traverse and will definitely do it again. It's far superior in variety and options than Burstall Pass or Chester Lake and much less traveled.

[Mount Birdwood. Next time we'll go to the pass visible at upper right to access Smutwood!]

[A last look at The Fist as we enter the trees on descent. The descent from this side is MUCH easier than it would be descending from Commonwealth Lake.]

[Wietse approaches the parking area. We still can't believe how far left we ended up going (should have gone straight up the middle!) but it's not as obvious as you think once you're in the thick bush. Pig's Back is visible as the bump in front of Birdwood. Commonwealth on the far left, then Pig's Tail, Birdwood with Pig's Back in front and Smuts on the right with The Fist in cloud in front of it.]

About Me

My name is Vern Dewit. I moved to Calgary, Alberta (Canada) in 1999 and since then I've fallen in love with the spectacular scenery and grand vistas that open up as you scramble up above treeline on a beautiful fall morning, or make your first cast on some back country stream as the sun throws its golden warmth on surrounding peaks.

Goal

I hope that my trip reports and pictures will inspire you to push your own physical limits whatever those may be. You may be inspired to try scrambling - a sport where you climb mountains via non-technical ascent routes - or you may simply realize what's in your own backyard and go for a short hike somewhere.

Disclaimer / Contact

Read the trip reports carefully and don't simply follow them blindly. Make sure you're within your abilities and if you have any questions don't hesitate to send me an email.